Gone Baby Gone

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source: Gone Baby Gone

Terrible, it would have been a mediocre movie at best, if it were not for some illogical points in the "story" and bad acting on the part played by Casey Affleck. Now here is the spoiler in the next few lines. If you really do want to see this movie (trust me you don't), then read this after you've seen it.. This movie started out pretty raw and it does tug at your heart strings since it has issues with kids in it. At first I thought it was some sort of shock movie. One of those for lack of a better story, pushing the sock value (you've seen them before). I got to hand one thing to Ben. First time I was left watching a detective story thinking that the protagonist was a total frigging idiot! Give me Philip Marlowe or Sam Spade! This guy is a "detective" with an IQ of a rock. The story has a few holes it in that make it fall apart. It got worse and worse about 3/4 into the movie. #1 He just shot the pedophile killer in the head and killed him. I didn't shed any tears for the guy, okay the guy deserved it. But then it doesn't explain how he got away with this murder. It left me thinking that "okay, they must have made up a story with Remy to make it all self defense..". Then the movie reaches it denouement, thinking there was some terrible conspiracy for money, only to find that the bad guys were not so bad after all. Then the detective does what does not make any sense at all, and gives up the child back to the drug addict mother. Just after the three cops basically gave up their careers, two of them their lives (one directly), not to mention several other people that either lied or gave up $130k in interest of the child. Makes even less sense, when he commits murder in a previous scene and gets away with it, but then he's morally inclined to take the child way from new loving adoptive (albeit illegal) parents. Not to mention sending the good retired Chief and wife to prison.. And then a few more final scenes that points out that he was even more of an idiot, and that what other people were telling him. Now all of this nonsensical line would have made sense (every movie need not have a "happy ending" after all), but Casey Affleck just didn't bring it. Just maybe, it would have made some sort of melodramatic sense if he could have pulled it off right. No offense to the other reviewers, but Ben must have paid them well. I'm off to watch "The Maltese Falcon" to wash the bad taste out of my mouth before I pluck my eyes out after watching this movie..

What ruins this movie is that the whole story is totally preposterous and ridiculous.A child is kidnapped and the film then embarks on a nonsensical whodunit which in the end poses a moral dilemma that in effect the chief of police stole the kid to give it a better life so why not leave things alone and allow the policeman to keep the kid....dear oh dear, give me a break! And no there is no argument, because in real life( not fantasies such as this) children no matter what the background of their natural parents should stay with them in most situations apart from abuse etc. Along the way getting to the nonsense ending we have all sorts of wholly unrealistic scenes and dialogs which I will not bother to relate as it wastes my time and are just completely far fetched. The lead actor is meant to be a outstanding person who faces the aforesaid moral dilemma yet in another scene he shoots an albeit loathsome yet unarmed man in the back of the head and is treated as a hero for doing that.No wonder the USA has a gun problem. Morgan Freeman gives an almost identical performance in every film; he is like a puppet except his mouth moves sometimes; Ed Harris wears a cocker spaniel hair piece which makes him look laughable. The romance interest of the lead is an excruciatingly bad actress. The makers of this film have an agenda: all celebrities because of their status and wealth are entitled-so the propaganda of the picture suggests- to whatever children they want and if that means kidnapping them so be it. Complete rubbish. 1/10.

The idea behind this film is fundamentally a good one - which is not surprising since it is based on a novel. And despite the horribly clichéd, implausible and convoluted screenplay, some of those original ideas remain. Also, to be fair, there are some nice moments in the film and it does not go Spielberg on us. But, there seems to be a trend - maybe they all learn it in screen writing school - to focus on a couple of key scenes that need to be told and to put as many twists in the story as possible to get there, Realistic dialog, believable characters, plausible behavior, pacing, logic, good storytelling - these don't seem to matter as long as we get that Oscar winning scene and those unexpected (actually very predictable) twists. This could have been a good movie with tighter editing and better storytelling to connect the Oscar moments - as it is - it makes about as much sense as a Steven Seagal movie and at least there you've got some cheap thrills...

Spoiler Alert So the sanctimonious prick lead character can murder someone in cold blood and participate in a drug deal but also feels the moral compulsion to turn in the good-hearted cop who was trying to offer that poor little girl a better life? God that was stupid! Why are critics praising the acting in this film? Casey Affleck was horrible! Ed Harris was ridiculously over the top. Morgan Freeman phoned in his performance. And really, how hard is it to pretend to be a bad mother? Ben Affleck is no better behind the camera than in front of it. His script is full of some of the worst dialog this side of The Phantom Menace, and while I won't blame the story on him as it is based on a novel, it was boring and preposterous! And while I commend the use of Guns N' Roses music in any film you should probably avoid having lyrics play directly over dialog, even if it is inane dialog. If you can't tell, I hated this movie.

People everywhere cringe at the thought of their child being abducted. Anyone who has watched any of the prime-time news channels in the last several years can see that every major news network devotes huge amounts of time to abduction and kidnapping stories. This is a clear reflection of the heart and conscience of a global society today. Every single human has a family, and knows from a primal understanding that all children are innocent, and are dependent on 2 parents and their extended families to protect them, teach them, and guide them down a path toward independence in the world. This movie raises one of many important questions in a long overlooked subject ….children's rights. I was happy to see that when facing a tough decision of how to end the movie, Ben Affleck decided to choose for the rights of the child. In a discussion after the directors screening I attended, Ben said "in real life, you never know if it's right or wrong, but you have to take a side, and live with the consequences". Casey Affleck said "any other choice would be crazy and irresponsible…you can't take kids". Amy Ryan said "lets help the parents "(who need help), "its about breaking the cycle". Clearly working on this film has raised these actors / director personal awareness on the issue of child abduction. As I am sure this movie will for all who see it. As the father of an abducted child, and a person who has devoted most of my life to this work since my daughter was abducted, I have to say that this film ….from beginning to end, handled such a challenging subject with a sensitivity and completeness. I am very impressed… and Ben has made me a believer in his work. Ben Affleck and Aaron Stockard definitely did their due diligence in real research. There are many important aspects of real world abductions handled well here….and it is all in a Hollywood movie that contains the kind of action and drama and intrigue, that filmmakers seem to have to use to get the tickets sold. I was especially impressed with the coming of age of the character Casey played, Patrick …a guy who didn't exactly know where he fit in his community, until he decided "I'm gonna bring her home". With a certain naivete' in the world , he is driven to stand by his principles. The line "I believe the government when they tell me something" explains him well. But eventually he has a moment of clarity and growth and says "I must have remembered it wrong". This is the moment of his acceptance that the government, corrupt police, and anyone ….is fallible and has shortcomings. We all have personal and political agendas that if backed into a corner, will defend, right or wrong, and the rest of the world can't change that. Its a moment that defines the rest of his life. Amy Ryan does a great job playing her character… a bad role-model for a parent. Those stereotypes on Jerry Springer exist in real life, and they have children. Many are not able to put the children first in their lives, for whatever the reason. All of us probably live near one. My hat is off entirely to Ben Affleck and all. Children seem to be able to survive incredible events and trauma. They seem to rebound against all odds without obvious damage sometimes. In the end, all will be revealed. But for now …. We are left to ask ourselves and those around us ….When that child grows up, and finds out that he or she was abducted, or when that abducted child says "they stole me"...... Who will stand up and answer for and apologize to her for not helping to return her to her lawful parents? Definitely go see the movie , Patrick Braden October 2 2007